CHAPTER 3: The Alpha's Prize
785 Words
The night air bit at Seraphina’s skin as she was pulled from the wreckage of her home. Smoke spiraled from burning rooftops, the heavy scent of ash and iron filling the wind. Her village—once her safe haven—was reduced to embers and shadows. Wolves drifted through the streets like phantoms, their glowing eyes flickering in the firelight, low growls rumbling like distant thunder.
Seraphina's breath caught as they dragged her toward the edge of the square. Bodies lay where they fell, her neighbors’ faces pale and lifeless. Guilt twisted in her gut like a blade. She had been glowing, Kael had said—a beacon. Had she led them here?
“Keep moving,” one of the wolves snarled, yanking on her bound wrists when she hesitated. The rope dug into her skin, and she stumbled forward, teeth clenched against the sting.
She didn’t dare look back.
Kael strode ahead, silent and commanding, with the others parting around him like shadows obeying their master. He hadn't spoken since claiming her as his own, but his presence weighed heavily on her chest—unrelenting and oppressive.
When they reached the edge of the forest, Kael finally turned to face her. Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting silver and shadow across his features. He seemed too calm for a man who had just slaughtered her village.
“Untie her,” he ordered.
The wolf holding her blinked in confusion. “Alpha—”
“Do it.” Kael's voice was low and menacing.
The rope fell away from her wrists, but before she could react, Kael seized her arm and pulled her forward. She stumbled against him, palms pressing against his chest. His scent enveloped her—pine, smoke, and something wild that sent her head spinning.
“Walk,” he commanded.
She glared up at him, anger igniting amidst her fear. “Why should I?”
Kael’s lips curled into that same predatory smile. “Because I said so.”
His grip on her arm was firm but not unkind as he guided her deeper into the forest, away from the destruction. The others followed at a distance, their glowing eyes watching intently.
Seraphina’s heart raced as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Why hadn’t he killed her? Why claim her as his?
Every instinct screamed for her to run; yet something deeper held her back—a connection she’d felt in the house now felt stronger with each step beside him.
When they arrived at a small clearing, Kael finally stopped. He turned to face her; his silver eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight. “What’s your name?”
She hesitated before responding. “Why do you care?”
His expression darkened slightly; a shiver coursed down her spine. “Because I like to know the names of those witches I choose not to kill.”
“Seraphina,” she whispered.
He repeated it softly as if savoring it—“Seraphina.”
The way he spoke it made her heart race.
He studied her for a long moment before crouching slightly so their gazes met levelly. “You don’t smell like an ordinary witch,” he remarked. “There’s something… else.”
Her throat tightened painfully at his words; if he knew that her magic was cursed—that every spell she cast took pieces from herself—he would have no hesitation in executing her right then and there. Wolves didn’t tolerate weakness.
Kael reached out gently to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. She flinched at first; his touch felt unexpectedly tender. “You should be terrified,” he murmured.
“I am,” she replied through gritted teeth.
He smiled faintly as if she'd amused him in some way. “Good.”
Suddenly turning to his men, he ordered: “Take her to the den. No one touches her; she's under my protection.”
A murmur of surprise rippled through them all, but none dared challenge him.
“Alpha,” one wolf ventured cautiously, “what is she to you?”
Kael glanced back at Seraphina; his expression remained unreadable.
“She’s mine.”
Seraphina's stomach churned at that declaration; she wanted to protest—to scream that she wasn’t anyone's possession—but no words came out. There was something in his tone—a dark certainty that filled her with dread.
As they moved toward the looming black forest ahead, Seraphina dared to glance back at Kael once more. He was watching intently, silver eyes aglow like molten moonlight.
And deep down, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she'd just stepped into a fate from which there would be no escape.
- Writer
